Tag Archives: Sen. Kevin Ranker

The proposed Orca Protection Act, which was declared dead last
week in the Washington State Senate, has sprung back to life with
the addition of a budget provision that offers a new chance of
passage.

Photo: Capt. Jim Maya,
2013

The newly resuscitated bill, approved by the Senate Ways and
Means Committee, is nearly identical to the original bill, which
includes special protections for the endangered Southern Resident
killer whales. If approved by both houses, the legislation would
impose new restrictions on boaters and drone pilots, increase
on-water patrols by state law-enforcement officers and support
studies regarding what people can do to save the whales.

The original legislation died on Feb. 14 when the Senate failed
to approve it before a deadline passed for bills that had no budget
impact, as I described in
Water Ways last Saturday. The bill was revived this week when
its sponsor, Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, used a procedural
maneuver to add a new budget provision.

Specifically, Ranker proposed a $5 increase in the cost of
special
vehicle license plates that depict endangered species,
including orcas. The extra money would be used by the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife for marine patrols and other
orca-related activities.

As a result of Ranker’s maneuver, the original bill, SB
6268, will get a new bill number, SB
5886, which is a bill originally submitted by Ranker in March
2017 with no text. A wholesale amendment on Thursday planted the
text of the Orca Protection Act into SB 5886, which still carries
the title “Relating to natural resources.”

Dave Pringle, Democratic policy analyst who works closely with
Ranker, told me that the senator heard support for the maneuver
from fellow legislators who wanted a chance to vote on the bill.
Ranker expects it to pass the Senate with strong support from
fellow Democrats as well as a number of Republicans. Action on the
Senate floor could come next week, when the bill would move on to
the House.

The bill describes the 76 Southern Resident orcas as “critically
endangered” with a population falling to a 36-year low. The whales
are important to the ecosystem and to the culture of Washington
tribes. The Southern Residents also provide the foundation of a
$60-million tourist industry, according to the bill.

The legislation calls for at least 100 law-enforcement patrols
during whale-watching season. Remotely controlled aircraft, known
as drones, would not be allowed to come within 200 yards of any
Southern Resident orca — which is the same limitation for vessels
under existing law. The bill also would require vessels to slow to
7 knots within 400 yards of a whale. Current law has no speed
limit.

The revised bill adds an exception from the requirements for
distance and speed when vessel operators cannot tell that they are
too close to the whales because of fog, rain or other weather
conditions.

The bill also would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife
to make recommendations about what further actions could be taken
by the Legislature and state agencies to help restore the orca
population. It also calls for meetings and collaborations with
wildlife officials in British Columbia to discuss protecting and
restoring the orcas.